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Erin Bow

@erinbowbooks.bsky.social
1K followers 478 following 936 posts

Author, author! I write novels and poetry, and teach scientists to tell stories. Newbery Honor winner, baby! Latest: WITCHWARD BOUND, clearly this year's best take on the Odyssey in which Odysseus is a cat. 9/1/2026

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Erin Bow @erinbowbooks.bsky.social · 5h
You know how sometimes you need to run away to the woods? I had trouble hitting my writing stride in September. I decided to sneak in a retreat between two promotional events.
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Erin Bow @erinbowbooks.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
I am thrilled to learn that WITCHWARD BOUND is #8 in Top 100 Books of the Year at Indigo! Check it out: www.indigo.ca/collec... And it is #3 in it's age category - ages 9+! www.indigo.ca/collec...
A screenshot of Indigo’s announcement, featuring a stack of books.  I spy I certain spine.
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Erin Bow @erinbowbooks.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
A rather recursive bit of #sketchbookjournal — a notebook page about my new notebooks. Unlike previous notebooks these ones are definitely going to fix my life.
A watercolour drawing of a small green notebook and a larger lavender legal pad. The text reads new notebooks. Historically new notebooks have not changed my life, but obviously these will be different. Morning page is legal pad is bigger and easier to ride in bed. Grill method pocket notebook is smaller and easier to carry around and thumb through.
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Erin Bow @erinbowbooks.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Sketchbook journal marking the anniversary of my mom’s death, today, September 22. A couple of days ago, facebook served me pictures of the day in 2022 that I visited the Chihuly glass footbridge in Tacoma, Washington, during the Pacific Northwest bookseller’s conference.
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Erin Bow @erinbowbooks.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Sketchbook diary page with no words on it. Monarchs are gathering here - milkweed, goldenrod, and the first asters in bloom. The neighbourhoid kids went back to school this week. The season starting to turn.
Two monarch butterflies and a spray of blooming milkweed— gouache and brown ink.
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Garth Marenghi's Catbus @catbus.phd · 13/09/2026
Kanako Oguma
painting by Kanako Oguma (小熊香奈子) of her holding her tabby cat Koimo
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Erin Bow @erinbowbooks.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
A blurb from an author whose work I love? IT IS TO SWOON! Hey, @, how about a Beowulfian wolf pack next?
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Erin Bow @erinbowbooks.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
#sketchbookdiary recap of WITCHWARD BOUND launch day on September 1st. Not half a patch on the wonderful illos by Kelly Murphy — Butter looks like one of those weird medieval manuscript cats. But I do like the grape juice sea and the pea green boat.
A sketchbook page of a calico cat in a sail boat, with a raven flying out ahead.  The boat is green and the water is purple.
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Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Just in time for the 2026-2027 vaccines, a new review shows that COVID19 vaccination significantly reduces the risk of severe illness and hospitalization across all age groups, including kids. Pregnant women were also protected, as were their babies. Don’t forget to schedule your vaccination!
jamanetwork.com
COVID-19 Vaccine Effectiveness and Safety for the 2026-2027 Respiratory Season
This Special Communication aims to identify and summarize the most recently published evidence evaluating the effectiveness and safety of US-licensed COVID-19 vaccines and report on the epidemiology o...
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King Algamemnon @adamrothman.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Sobering, insightful essay on how chatbots mangle historical primary sources. 🗃 www.hnn.us/article/ai-i...
hnn.us
AI Is an Anti-Primary Source Machine
Real voices from the past are threatened by chatbots designed to amplify — and ultimately become — the loudest voices in the room.
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Alan @gammacounter.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
I love the string & washer envelope closure. So satisfying to unlock and (especially) to wind it shut. Been around in this specific embodiment for at least 100 years. Long may it last. 
Photo of one of those enter Office mail envelopes focusing on the above mentioned string and Washer or sometimes called string and button closure device, the string and the buttons are color
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Erin Bow @erinbowbooks.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
I am thinking of having this line from Kirkus printed on a shirt and wearing it everywhere.
Cover of the book WITCHWARD BOUND and an excerpt from a Kirkus review, reading "like Kate DiCamillo or Katherine Applegate at their best."
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Robert Simmon @rsimmon.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
I am having a particularly frustrating week, so here’s one of the best things I’ve ever done. The eruption of Sarychev Peak in the Aleutian Islands, seen by the crew of the space station. www.nasa.gov/image-articl...
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Erin Bow @erinbowbooks.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Why I am not in Newfoundland. I got invited to a home-brew writing retreat in Newfoundland. I gathered over the cost and the timing but said yes. THE PLAN: Step one: spend the week, tying up loose ends, and setting up for a big writing push. the packing alone will consume a day.
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Cindy Schwind @cindyschwind1.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Happy Book Birthday to Witchward Bound by @erinbowbooks.bsky.social 🎈🎁🎈🎁🎈🎁🎈🎁🎈🎁🎈🎁 #bookposse
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Debbie Ridpath Ohi @debbieohi.com · 31/08/2026
I love discovering new words that I can reasonably use in casual conversation, like SPRUE. 😁 #OneThingIveLearned #BoardGames
onething.pckt.blog
A "sprue" is the cardboard sheet from which you punch out game pieces - One Thing I've Learned
Also known as a punchboard
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Erin Bow @erinbowbooks.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
So I had the coffee all packed and was at the airport in the security line when I got a text from @porterairlines.bsky.social that I'd been bumped to tomorrow's flight.
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Erin Bow @erinbowbooks.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
What portion of your suitcase is it reasonable to devote to coffee if going somewhere without coffee? I was thinking maybe …. Half?
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Erin Bow @erinbowbooks.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Bought the filmed play of HADESTOWN and am sure it will turn out this time. Completely unworried about any emotional devastation.
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Erin Bow @erinbowbooks.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Bought the filmed play of HADESTOWN and am sure it will turn out this time. Completely unworried about any emotional devastation.
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Erin Bow @erinbowbooks.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
I love my garden, even if my cancer treatments + travel + construction led to it being entirely neglected for four solid months. Most of it now needs to be hacked back with a machete. But the water lilies are as always too perfectly beautiful to take seriously.
Sketchbook page — a straightforward watercolor of a pink waterlily, with a glimpse of a goldfish.
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Erin Bow @erinbowbooks.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Last year the stars aligned and I was able to join E.K. Johnston EK Johnston’s home-brew writing retreat on Lake Muskoka. This year, I got to go back. Big things happen at these retreats.
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Erin Bow @erinbowbooks.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Another #sketchbookdiary page. Our Muskoka retreat included two American writers (and me, but after 25 years of dual citizenship I assimilated-ish) and it’s always fun to make someone try ketchup potato chips for the first time.
A sketchbook page featuring Canadian peculiar: our milk bags, our cheezies, our bi-lingual pun packaging, our two/day peach season, our National Film Board’s take on black flies, and our butter tarts, which make up for much.
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Erin Bow @erinbowbooks.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Nerd Daily, bless 'em, asked me to pick an excerpt of Witchward Bound. I gave them this:
tinyurl.com
Read An Excerpt From 'Witchward Bound' by Erin Bow | The Nerd Daily
From Newbery Honor–winning author Erin Bow, a timeless tale of friendship and magic, delivered in a stunning, collectible package—first in a new series. Homeward Bound meets The Odyssey with the charm of Studio Ghibli in this instant classic for 8-to-12-year-olds about magical animals on a quest to find their lost witch.
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Erin Bow @erinbowbooks.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
I pitched "The Odd Sea" as a title for this book, and was convinced that Homeric puns don't really resonate with the target audience. Which is probably true. But now I use the phrase "the year's best adaptation of the Odyssey in which Odysseus is a tom cat" every chance I get.
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Erin Bow @erinbowbooks.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
This was indeed the hardest part of writing an animal fantasy: making animal narrators who are cat enough or raven enough to be really animals -- while also telling a deeply human story that's relatable to very young readers.
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Erin Bow @erinbowbooks.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
"Energetic escapade" is a great phrase -- and this is lovely praise for the excellent illustrations by Kelly Murphy. They are indeed a fresh take on that perfect classic kidlit vibe.
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Erin Bow @erinbowbooks.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Like Tom Holland doing Umbrella, the code of good internet says one must always reblog Rita Moreno and Animal.
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Erin Bow @erinbowbooks.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
#sketchbookjournal page. The text reads: I dream of sinking easily and joyfully back into my words — my creativity: sketching and cooking and gardening. For so long I have been resisting that. I feel numbness and tight anxiety when I sit down to write.
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E.K. Johnston @ekjohnston.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
@erinbowbooks.bsky.social is almost at the end of Demon In The Sand and I am starting to get nervous. 🤣
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Erin Bow @erinbowbooks.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Another bit of #sketchbookjournal. My first night in Muskoka I couldn’t sleep. I was awake long enough to watch the the Big Dipper slowly tip over. Insomnia is miserable — But I also saw the northern lights.
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Erin Bow @erinbowbooks.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
I am SUCH a Wendy Mass fan — LOST LIBRARY is best middle grade I read this year — and I am so honoured by this blurb!
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Emily M. Bender @emilymbender.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
This sign is a great example for helping to explain why chatbots present such a potent illusion. A probably not short thread 🧵>>
Photo of a sign with a doorbell attached. The printed sign reads:

CURRENT GUGGENHEIM ACCES BY HUSKY CARD ONLY
[Logos for Amazon, FedEx, UPS]
DELIVERIES/VISITORS
PLEASE RING THIS DOORBELL

Delivery hours M-F 9:00am-(obscured)
University of Washington

Taped next to the doorbell is a hand written note that reads:
yes! it rang! Pelase wait 30 seconds before pressing again.
thanks!
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alix e. harrow @alixeharrow.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
god bless the richmond sex shop that finally agreed to replace their "controversial" mural of a woman feeding her beaver....with a woman playing with her cat. be the malicious compliance you want to see in the world 🙏 www.axios.com/local/richmo...
axios.com
Richmond's controversial beaver mural is coming down
New owners are replacing the decade-old Taboo artwork with a less controversial cat mural.
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Sam Adams @samadams.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Worth reiterating every time that this is not some cancel-culture purity test: JK Rowling has pledged more than a billion dollars of her Harry Potter money towards bankrolling anti-trans lawsuits. This finances that.
deadline.com
Nicholas Hoult In 'Harry Potter' Season 2 As Gilderoy Lockhart - Excl.
Nicholas Hoult has joined Season 2 of HBO Max's 'Harry Potter. He will play Gilderoy Lockhart, portrayed in the second movie by Kenneth Branagh.
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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
How cool! I've paddled the Bronx River in NYC. A river otter was spotted in the Bronx River for the first time in over 100 years! Because otters need clean water and abundant fish to thrive, this sighting hints at the waterway’s ecological recovery from being treated as a dumping ground.
theguardian.com
Otter spotted for first time in 100 years in New York City’s Bronx River
Image captured in early June shows animal foraging in the waterway in first since early 1900s, signaling its recovery
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Erin Bow @erinbowbooks.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Coming in October!
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Maggie Tokuda-Hall @maggietokudahall.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
SARASOTA FL flipped the school board. They were like ground zero for this book banning bullshit and I LOVE TO SEE them eat shit electorally 🥰🥰🥰 This keeps happening almost like book banner suck and are bad at their jobs
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Erin Bow @erinbowbooks.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
My friend EK Johnston runs an annual home-brew writing retreat in Muskoka. Last year I found my writer self again by jumping into this lake. We arrived on Sunday evening in the rain and I did a quick #sketchbookjournal — terrible perspective, good color capture.
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Erin Bow @erinbowbooks.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
This amazing blurb just came in for WITCHWARD BOUND, my talking animal fantasy that's coming out Sept 1. Thank you Jan Flynn for elevating my book to godhood.
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Erin Bow @erinbowbooks.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
First copies of WITCHWARD BOUND showed up at my house and I entirely failed to be chill.
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P. Djéli Clark | The Disgruntled Haradrim @pdjeliclark.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
The nation’s audacious 1960s rocket programme was met with ridicule. Now, more than 60 years on, this curious episode is inspiring film-makers, playwrights and a circus show at the fringe.
theguardian.com
‘It’s a Pan-African story’: the artists telling the amazing true tale of Zambia’s mission to reach space
The nation’s audacious 1960s rocket programme was met with ridicule. Now, more than 60 years on, this curious episode is inspiring film-makers, playwrights and a circus show at the fringe
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Erin Bow @erinbowbooks.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
I’ve got one Odyssey adaptation coming out in September, I was thinking I should write that AI one everyone is clamouring for. How hard can it be? “Hi, Odysseus! I’m excited to be working with you on this “return to Ithaca” project! It sounds challenging — but ultimately very rewarding.”
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Erin Bow @erinbowbooks.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
WITCHWARD BOUND — my forthcoming middle grade adventure — has its first pre-pub review, and it’s a⭐️from Kirkus. It contains the phrase “like Kate DiCamillo and Kathryn Applegate at their best…” which I might put on, you know, EVERYTHING. Is it gauche to put your Kirkus reviews on a t-shirt?
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Erin Bow @erinbowbooks.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews... I continue to be bad at social media but look y’all it’s a KIRKUS star. Should I make a shirt that says “like Kate DiCamillo and Katherine Applegate at their best…”? I think I should !
kirkusreviews.com
WITCHWARD BOUND | Kirkus Reviews
Two clueless if resolute animal familiars have adventures on the wine-dark sea while seeking out their mysteriously vanished witch.
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Erin Bow @erinbowbooks.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
A sea-ful of thanks to @fuse8.bsky.social for including BUTTER AND OWL on the list of fall books to check out if you’re visiting #ALAAC26 the ALA conference in Chicago! I can’t be there (sad!!!!) but they have ARCs at the Disney booth! afuse8production.slj.com/2026/06/25/w...
afuse8production.slj.com
What to Look For at ALA Annual: These Are the Fall Children's Books You're Going to Want to See - A Fuse #8 Production
Why wander aimlessly around the ALA Conference floor when you can learn which books are worth seeking? Additionally: See when you might run into me in the next few days!
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Erin Bow @erinbowbooks.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
The Willapa Bay AiR is near Cape Disappointment, which is beautiful in a way that is somehow both stark and liminal. I found Diane Seuss’s book FRANK on the residency shelf, and realized she’d written it in this place. The first line … “I drove all the way to Cape Disappointment”…
A sketchbook spread of a beach ending in purple-ish rocks, half exposed by the changing tides.
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Erin Bow @erinbowbooks.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
I have been on the road so I am late in saying so, but I am absolutely THRILLED with this award for SIMON SORT OF SAYS. In the kidlit world, there is nothing more powerful than kids choosing books for themselves. That’s why readers’ choice awards are such a treasure.
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Erin Bow @erinbowbooks.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
I have a few hours in Portland this afternoon so naturally I went to Powells Books, where I have never been. Look what I found! Staff pick SIMON SORT OF SAYS on an end cap display! it’s like going to the Vatican and discovering that they made you a saint!
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Erin Bow @erinbowbooks.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
Sometimes my #sketchbookjournal is about things that are on my mind rather than things that are in front of my eyes. It It’s not as satisfying as drawing from life, but it still helps me mark and keep what’s interesting about this day.
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